RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents & links :: JRL 2020-#16 :: Thursday, 23 January 2020

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Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2020-#16 :: Thursday, 23 January 2020
A project sponsored through the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs. The contents do not necessarily represent the views of IERES or The George Washington University.
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1. www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com: ‘So We Don’t Have to Fight Russia Over Here’. Schiff Delivers Powerful Statement to Senators in Trump Impeachment Trial.
2. Kremlin.ru: Ceremony to unveil the Memorial Candle monument dedicated to the residents and defenders of besieged Leningrad – en.kremlin.ru/events/president/transcripts/62642
3. Wall Street Journal: Russia’s Parliament Passes Putin’s Constitutional Plans on First Reading. Proposals could allow Russia’s president to exercise power beyond his 2024 term limit.
4. www.rt.com: Russian MPs give first nod to sweeping constitutional changes proposed by Putin.
5. TASS: Without knowing the past, it is impossible to hope for good future, says Putin.
6. TASS: Analysts name Putin’s ten lessons for Russia’s future political leaders.
7. Twitter: Dmitri Trenin, Explaining logic of Russia’s constitutional changes.
8. Irrussianality: Paul Robinson, AND NOW FOR THE DETAILS.
11. The Unz Review: Anatoly Karlin, No Radical Changes In Russian Cabinet – unz.com/akarlin/no-radical-changes-in-russian-cabinet/
12. Carnegie Moscow Center: Tatiana Stanovaya, Russia’s New Government Is Its Least Political Yet. Russia’s new cabinet ministers are young, efficient, nonconfrontational, adaptable, and don’t poke their noses into politics. They live in the digital world that is so difficult for the country’s aging leadership to understand. With time, the victim of this technocratic dominance may be that very same leadership.
13. Meduza: Who are Russia’s new cabinet members? Part one: the vice premiers.
14. RFE/RL: In With The Old, In With (A Few Of) The New: Russia’s Government Reshuffle.
15. AP: Russia’s Putin remains secretive about his future role.
16. South China Morning Post (Hong Kong): Irvin Studin, Pulling a Xi Jinping? Vladimir Putin’s power play for modern Russia is not what you think. Russia is the world’s largest, most complex state to govern and it seldom acts for one sole purpose. Putin or not, the country is still struggling to find its unique path – scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3046966/pulling-xi-jinping-vladimir-putins-power-play-modern-russia-not
17. Bloomberg: Leonid Bershidsky, Putin Puts Russia Inc. Under New Management. The newly formed government is the president’s bureaucratic dream team, but its kind of competence won’t translate into growth.
18. The Unz Review: The Saker, The New Russian Government. A much needed evolution but not a revolution – unz.com/tsaker/the-new-russian-government/#comments
19. Washington Post: Daragh McDowell, Putin’s succession strategy could be risky. This explains why. Even the best-laid plans have unpredictable political consequences.
20. TASS: About 3,000 people were detained at political rallies in Moscow in 2019.
21. Sputnik: Moody’s Believes Russia’s Economic Policy Will Remain Unchanged Despite Government Shuffle – sputniknews.com/russia/202001221078106837-moodys-believes-russias-economic-policy-will-remain-unchanged-despite-government-shuffle/
22. TASS: Izvestia: Russian economy to outshine US, EU.
23. Moscow Times: Russians See Pollution as a Greater Threat Than Terrorism – Poll.
24. Intellinews.com: Russia’s Watcom shopping index ends 2019 on five-year high as consumption recovers.
25. Financial Times: Russia’s rally puts it back on the radar for global fund managers. ‘Special cocktail’ of factors attracts fund managers’ interest after bruising run.
26. www.rt.com: Deal with OPEC helps Russia double its National Wealth Fund.
27. The Hill: Jeffrey Mankoff, A new era in Russia will allow America to rethink its policy.
28. Reuters: Putin Proposes 2020 Summit With Leaders of Russia, France, China, U.S. and UK.
29. The National Interest: Pierre Noel, The Dark Days of Large-Scale Gas Transit in Europe. It is time to terminate the direct gas trade between Russia and its fiercest critiques in Europe. This progressive step would remove a source of tensions in the Russia-Europe gas relationship and increase Europe’s energy security.
30. The Diplomat: Yuan Jiang, Russia’s Strategy in Central Asia: Inviting India to Balance China. Russia’s invitation for India to link up with Eurasian Economic Union recalls the SCO expansion saga.
31. The Nation: Lucy Komisar, Mikhail Khodorkovsky: the Man, the Myth, the Movie. “It seemed to me that ideologically he [Putin] was one of our people,” the former Russian oligarch says in the new Alex Gibney documentary Citizen K.
32. Sputnik: ‘Geriatric’ Western Powers Don’t Want to Give Up Their Influence in the World – Russian BRICS Expert – sputniknews.com/analysis/202001161078052229-geriatric-western-powers-dont-want-to-give-up-their-influence-in-the-world—russian-brics-expert/
33. Russia Beyond: Why are Russians SO obsessed with erecting barriers everywhere? – rbth.com/lifestyle/331589-why-russians-obsessed-fences
34. Intellinews.com: Ukraine’s population falls behind Poland’s for the first time, electronic census says 5mn people lost since 2000.

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